Customers will now have the opportunity to provide energy to the grid
Freeport, The Bahamas
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(November 4, 2015) The Grand Bahama Power Company (GBPC) plans to introduce Solar
generation
technology to its energy mix in 2016. In its rate submission filed with
the Grand Bahama Port Authority in August, GBPC outlined solar as one
of a variety of options to help diversify its energy mix. The
introduction of solar technology is expected to replace
GBPC’s conventional generation located at Water Cay in 2016.
GBPC
recognizes that the use of solar provides benefit to our customers,
partly by enabling the deferral of future capital investment in fossil
fuel generation assets. Solar,
when combined with a cost effective energy storage system to capture
the sun’s daytime energy, will be a benefit to Grand Bahama if the
energy can be released during the night when the island’s energy demand
is at its highest.
Customers
throughout Grand Bahama will also have the opportunity to sell energy
they produce to the utility with the development of GBPC’s new Renewable
Energy Rider rate (RER). This
rate allows for customers to supply energy generated from energy
sources such as Solar PV, Wind turbine or other forms of renewable
energy to the grid.
As with any technology,
there are opportunities and challenges associated with Solar PV. With
this in mind, GBPC will introduce the RER as a pilot program that will
initially limit the number of systems
connected to the grid. These limits are intended to allow GBPC the
opportunity to assess the impact to our system’s load while ensuring the
stability of the grid is not negatively affected.
“We have been focused on
stabilizing rates for our customers and improving reliability over the
last few years; we’re turning our attention to introducing renewables on
the grid. We expect
to replace 100% of our fossil fuel generation at Water Cay with solar
in 2016. It’s an important step towards reducing our reliance on foreign oil,” stated Paul Miller, Managing Director at GBPC.
These initiatives provide
a clear example of our commitment to diversifying our energy mix and
stabilizing future electricity costs all for the benefit of Grand
Bahama’s energy future.